34 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



and it yoj liavu a poor run of stock tlio consumer does not gi-t value 

 received. 



The report of prices received by members would indicate that in many 

 instances higher prices have been obtained than shown by the January list 

 and that nearly all items are strong at this list. Our recommendation is 

 that you be in no haste to sell your stock and that you keep in mind the 

 fact to which we have repeatedly called your attention heretofore, which 

 is that supply and demand fix the price. At this time the demand with 

 one exception is unusually good and the supply less than usual. 



On motion, the report was accepted. 



E. H. Hamar, president of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association, was introduced afld stated that in 

 Wisconsin there was a manifest shortage in both hemlock and 

 hardwood lumber. He regarded the report of the market condi- 

 tions committee very conservative. 



He then spoke in behalf of an advertising campaign for the 

 benefit of woods produced by Michigan and Wisconsin manufac- 

 turers, and also in behalf of an inter insurance plan. He stated 

 that statistics gathered by his association showed that only twenty- 

 three per cent of the supis paid out for policies had been re- 

 turned to the policyholders in the form of fire losses. He be- 

 lieved that the cost of insurance could be materially reduced 

 by participation in an inter-insurance plan. 



Secretary' Kellogg of the Wisconsin association was then intro- 

 duced and said that the members of that organization were in a 

 very cheerful mood; saw improved business conditions at all 

 points and better prices; reported short stocks. He stated that 

 hemlock had advanced in value from one to two dollars per thou- 

 sand since January 1, and for detailed information referred the 

 members to the statistics as analyzed in his report. 



B. A. Johnson, editor of the Lumber World Keview, Chicago, 

 was then introduced, and spoke in behalf of a forest products 

 exposition, or a series of such expositions to exploit forest prod- 

 ucts. On motion of F. A. Diggins, the association went on record 

 endorsing- the project of a forest products exposition and agreed 

 to lend its moral support to such a movement. 



D. H. Day, chairman of the grading rules committee, on behalf 

 of his committee and of a corresponding committee of the North- 

 ern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers ' Association, presented 

 a report commending sundry changes in the rules to be brought 

 before the National Hardwood Lumber Association at its next 

 annual meeting. Considerable discussion ensued concerning these 

 I'hanges, and slight amendments were made in the report, and then, 

 as amended, it was unanimously adopted and signed on behalf 

 of both associations by the presidents and secretaries. 



F. A. Diggins offered a resolution, which was adopted, specifying 

 that the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers ' Association was in 

 sympathy with the transit privileges now being urged by the 

 Grand Rapids and Saginaw valley operators so far as they could 

 be put in form in conformity with the law and the rulings of the 

 Interstate Commerce Commission. 



President Hamar of the Wisconsin association invited every 

 member of the Michigan organization to be present at the meet- 

 ing of his association, which will be held at Houghton, Mich, in 

 July. 



D. H. Day urged the attendance of every member of the asso- 

 ciation at the forthcoming meeting of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association to be held in Chicago, June G and 7. 



The meeting then adjourned. 



'v>|^^!>i</Vv/>^i^,'wi;ji^alai^i>^^bTOi m!)ialt;^^ 



The Handle Trade 



A NEW HANDLE ASSOCLA.TION 



The manufacturers of hickory tool handles of all kinds have 

 been having several meetings of late with a determination to 

 form a strong organization, which is greatly needed to protect 

 their industry. From what I see of the methods employed by 

 a few of them to sell their handles, 1 think that they need to 

 get together to not only talk over prices and resolve or recom- 

 mend to do certain things, but rather to form a strong selling 

 corporation and sell all of their products through or to this com- 

 pany. I believe that this would not conflict with the Sherman 

 law, as it is done by hundreds of firms every day. We used to 

 say that competition was the life of trade. It may be that this 

 was true in the past, but now it is simply the death of most 

 trades, and does but very little good to any of them. 



Our largest corporations have practically no competition and 

 yet they have not raised the prices of their product — in fact, 

 they are paying high wages to their employes and yet are selling 

 their goods for but a very little, if any, more than the same 

 goods were sold before the consolidations. 



Handles of all classes are not bringing the prices that thej' 

 should bring, but if the cost of selling could be cut manufacturers 

 would have a nice profit. A selling corporation, by reason of 

 selling the larger jiercentage of the handles made or even all 

 of them, could sell at a great deal lower selling cost than the 

 separate firm, and as it would be handling all the handles, could 

 get a better price and dispose of all the grades and distribute 

 them so that they would not conflict with the sale of the higher 

 grades. Practically all these handles are at present bought by 

 jobbers, among whom there is no cooperation. Thus the handles 

 can be purchased for less than they are worth. The very large 

 manufacturers, on the other hand, have none of this trouble, as 

 thev have ]>lenty of capital and if they wished could hold the 

 handles until the market suited them, but like the smaller handle 

 men who haven't the capital, they do not want to keep their 

 money tied up very long and so sell the handles at prices that 



are unsatisfactory. The small handle men usually claim that 

 the larger ones do the price cutting, but from what I have learned 

 by correspondence with firms of all sizes, this does not hold good. 

 1 find that the price cutting is done by smaller factories that 

 are new to the trade, and not being able to make a first-class 

 handle, sell what they do make under the best grade names and 

 take low-grade prices for them. This is where most of the trouble 

 arises and this is where a selling corporation would do the most 

 good, as it would be able to buy up the handles made by this 

 class of factories and regrade and sell them on a right basis. 

 By all means let the good work go on and let us see a strong 

 association formed to eliminate this class of handle makers. 

 HANDLE NOTES 

 Adulteration seems to have reached the supply house people 

 as well as the others. We opened a bag of sand this week that 

 had been bought for No. white sand. It was a mixture of all 

 grades from the finest to the coa'rsest. We have also found the 

 same trouble with our glue and will have to get Dr. Wilej' after 

 some of the manufacturers 



Broom handle men hav.> just had one of the best years in the 



history of the industry, an<l the prospect for the coming year 



looks to be just as good. It is too early to make any prediction 



as to the broom corn crop, but as a high price usually encourages 



the grower to plant more corn, so it is expected that there will 



be a large plant of corn in the different states. Although there 



was enough corn last season to supply every factory, there was 



but little to spare and the bare reports served to put a price on 



the brush that was higher than it was really worth. This put 



the price of brooms so high that the output was curtailed to a 



certain extent. It is to be hoped that the crop this year will 



be handled at a more reasonable figure. 

 * « * 



Vacuum cleaner makers are beginning to use the hard maple 

 handle in preference to the metal handle that was first tried. 



